It’s clear we love a cleverly-crafted cocktail at Hunter & Barrel UAE, but why is a barrel-aged spirit different to a standard one?
The art of ageing alcohol in a wooden barrel has been around for thousands of years. It’s a somewhat tricky science that requires dedication, expert intuition, and exceptionally high beverage standards – all of which we wear proudly at Hunter & Barrel!
Barrel-ageing is exactly as it sounds – the process of ageing spirits in a wooden barrel – but the results can be very different. The type of wood; its coating, ageing time, temperature and the combination of spirits and accompanying ingredients that go towards each barrel have a distinct impact on the flavour that emerges.
Wood barrels used for ageing spirits are charred or toasted prior to filling with our special whisky, tequila, rum and gin recipes, which are left for days, weeks or months, and end up as the basis of our bespoke Hunter & Barrel barrel-aged cocktails.
The barrel itself introduces oxygen to the spirit mix, and the charcoal coating acts to remove unwanted flavours – often mellowing out any jarring acidity and replacing it with a smoother, smokier and sometimes sweeter mouthfeel. And when our perfectly matured barrel-aged creations are fused into Hunter & Barrel Signature Cocktails… it’s truly one exceptional sip after another.
Just some of the most popular concoctions being enjoyed at Hunter & Barrel – either with or without an accompanying steak dinner! – are our Bullseye Negroni (Barrel-aged Gin, coffee-infused Campari, Cinzano Rosso); Stag Fashioned (Barrel-aged Whisky, bitters, Stag Tincture) and La Vida Loca (Barrel-aged Tequila, citrus cordial, agave syrup). Which one will you try first?
View the full Hunter & Barrel UAE Beverage Menu here. For more information and bookings, click here.
